Silent Dogs
by Anateja
Summary: "Very few knew about vampires, mostly they were considered a legend. Only military high-ups, scientists under an oath and some common people knew who those creatures were and how they were created." Mixed with 1 season and manga, Vampire!EdxWin and Royai.


Heavy, stormy clouds were thronging above the charming fields of small town, Resembool. A threat of rain was hagning in the air and it was a thing which colonel Roy Mustung didn't like at all.

When he got out of a train, on the only station in the town, the first drop hit his nose. And the second. And another one. When he walked a few steps away from the tracks and settles his luggage down on the stone floor, it was already pouring. The sound of his lieuntant's steps was drown out by intensifying rain and the whistle of the starting engine. However, colonel knew that lieuntant Riza Hawkeye was stadning right behind him.

As always.

-It doesn't bode well for us, does it? Colonel?

Roy smirked; it was something which was happening only when he was certain, what he was saying in some awful way.

-Surely, Hawkeye. You're right as usual. But something's telling me, that this mission is going to be unusually interesting.

Without any further explanations nor looking back, Mustung picked up his suitcase and moved toward the stairs, which led down to the ground. This time, without having the starting locomotive behind, he heard the steps of Riza catching him up.

-Interesting? Why do you think so, colonel?

Mud was splashing and lapping under the black boots of two of soldiers. Damn, thought Roy, Hawkeye has just polished them. The paved road would do well.

But they wouldn't have counted for such facilities fast. Resembool was a very small town, almost a village, caomparing to Central or East City. Only fields were around, which were cut by balks and scattered by dots of individual houses, bulit in random places; it looked like some madman took a picture of Resembool and a brush stained in black paint and then shhok it off above the landscape of the town. In the places where paint fell, the houses were built; those were usually solid buildings, which seemed to belong to people, who valued confidence and order.

And peace. The town was just emmiting the specific idyll. It wasn't a place suitable for scary things to take place, not even strange ones.

„I don't know, Hawkeye" replied colonel for the asked question. „I just don't know. But I can guarantee you, it'll be interesting. Hawkeye, I promise you that.

„Auto Mail" - said the title in front of a certain house. When they went through the gate, Mustung noticed a kennel and a wet nose, which dragged Riza's attention; lieuntant was looking at it with a wistful gaze. Probably, she was already missing her Black Hayate left alone in Central.

Cursing coldness and humidity, Roy rose the hand and knocked on the door.

No answer.

He was about to knock again, when the door suddenly opened.

„Yes?" the voice was heard, but Roy couldn't pinpoint where the speaker was. He was staring around like an idiot, to the right and left, when he heard Riza talking undertone:

„Sir, down."

He cleared his throat to cover the confusion and looked to his feet. A short old woman was standing in front of him, while smoking a long pipe. Her hair pinned up in a bun made her look like a 'good granny', if not the aura she was emmiting: aura as stormy as that day's weather, with a note of sadness and worry.

„Doctor Pinako Rockbell, I assume?"

„Yes, what is it? What is the army looking for here?" sharper note sounded in the voice of mistress Rockbell, when she was gazing at officer' uniforms.

„We've received an order of checking up on this house, since we've heard that..." unfortunately, he wasn't meant to finish.

„Nothing's going on in here!" old lady's shout pierced the air like a lighting. The door was about to close just before Roy's nose.

Granny shouted again, when Mustung's boot stood in her way, forcibly blocking the door. Pinako was pushed back and Roy with Riza bursted into the room, carrying rain and mud.

„It's... It's an intrusion!" shocked hostess was screaming.

„We can arrest you for making harder to fulfill orders of soldiers on duty" stated Riza, taking colonel's coat; Roy had already made himself at home.

„But we won't do it" took up Roy, while getting rid of water from hair „because we might need you, mistress Rockbell. Or you are the one who needs us."

Pinako calmed down and returned to the usual behaviour of a kind grandma; the only difference was that the aggression against the newcomers wasn't present anymore, but it was replaced by the anxiety. Anyway, she just had to astimate her chances and see that she had no chances against power of army.

„Is that so?" Pinako rose her eyebrow sceptically.

Confidentially, Roy glanced at the room. Wooden table, few chairs, decoration made of materials available only on the countryside. It was just a usual farm building, but even though, homeliness and the sun's wamrth in the rainy day could be felt here. It reminded him of something. That smell, that atmosphere... House of his friend, lieuntant colonel Meas Hughes, smelled exactly the same.

Like family and a child's laughter.

„Did something happen here lastly, mistress Rockbell?" asked Riza, when the colonel didn't take up the talk.

„Happen? I already told you, nothing happened here, it's a normal house..."

„Don't deceive ourselves" Roy interrupted her. „Please tell us the truth; you'll make things easier for both us and you."

For a moment, only a sound of Pinako's nail hitting the pipe was heard.

„After all, you already know."

„If we had known" colonel, fully relaxed by the aura of the house, started to stroll along a pine chest of drawers, looking at photographies. There were diffretent people: happy couple with a gap-toothed blond girl, the same blondie in company of two boys of her age; one of them had a swashbuckling face, the other was a bit chubby. And pair of those kids again, probably brohters, playing near the river, or sitting with some women on a picnic blanket. „If we had known, we wouldn't have been so polite; we would have taken action immediately. But the only thing that was told us was to review this house."

The last picture presented those brothers and the blond girl among some ruins. They seemed to be a bit growned-up; they had to be around 10-year-olds. Roy stared at this photo, trying to recognize crumbled walls but it was hopeless: probably he had never seen that place. He gave up and instead, he turned at his heels and look straight into eyes of 'grandma Pinako'.

„You don't live on your own" the intonation dropped; it wasn't a question.

„No, but among the people you saw on the pictures, mister..."

„Mustung. Colonel Mustung."

„Exactly" Pinako nodded. „Among those people, only one is alive. Actually" her voice broke, like a guitar out of tune „even she is dying upstairs right now."

After a moment of silence bedewed with a sound of dropping rain on the windows, Pinako added:

„My granddaughter, Winry. The blond one."

Roy turned around to look at the pictures once again. Exactly, a cute child. On the other photographies she used to be only with Pinako or the brothers. But without other adults.

„Please tell us what happened. Without skipping anything."

„It's not a long story." Pinako tried to be tough, but the voice let her down again. She had to take a deep breath to continue. „ I found Winry lying on the floor of her room yesterday morning. She was lying..."

She couldn't handle it anymore. She covered her eyes, but she couldn't hide tears. One after another, little pearls dropped from the long nose to the floor. Surprised. she jumped and looked up when Riza approached unexepctadly and put a hand on the old women's shoulder. She blinked with her wet eyes and then wiped away the tears. She turned to the doors coming further to the house. Riza and Roy understood the nonverbal message to follow her.

The girl was around 15 years old. She was the older version of herself from the pictures and at the same time she was resembling the women she was on the oldest photos. Her blond long hair surrounded her pale face, which made her look like an angel.

The thing which was denying this image was short and jerky breaths.

Roy took his glove off and touched her forehead. Then he put two fingers to her throat and froze for a moment, feeling the pulse. To be certain, he shook her by the shoulder a few times.

No reaction – she was in a deep and tiring sleep.

„Well, well" Roy straightened up and wore a glove again. „There are no doubts."

„Colonel?" Riza frowned.

„Temperature of the body is high below the avarage, weak and hard to detect pulse, extreme exhaustion."

Lieuntant sighed heavily.

„What?" Pinako asked nervously. „What's with my granddaughter? Speak!"

„Mistress Rockbell" Riza spoke in gentle, as for her, voice „how was your granddaughter when you found her? And where are her parents?"

„My son and daughter-in-law are dead since the war in Ishval" Pinako's voice was emotionless, like a robot's one. „I found Winry yesterday in the morning in her room. I know that she spent whole night working; we have a big commission to fulfill: making an automail of a leg and an arm. She was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She herself was deadly pale. I called the doctor: it looks like she's perfectly fine.

This time, it was Roy who sighed heavily.

„We have a bad news. Mistress Rockbell, but there's still a chance to save your granddaughter. However, before I tell you that, please tell me: how was W...Wen...Wan..."

„Winry."

„That's right, Winry. How was Winry acting after a bite... That is, when you found her?" Roy, stormed by Riza's sight, bit his tongue.

„She has been lying uncontiously since that time" admitted gloomy Pinako „but when I found her she was murmuring „Edward" and „Alphonse" all the time; these are names of two brothers, who Winry used to be friends with. They're dead for a few years." She said that with a stone face.

Roy remembered to find out more informations about those brothers, and then focused on telling the concerned granny the truth.

„Mistress Rockbell... Your granddaughter has been attacked by a vampire."


End file.
